


Beauty of a Secret

by thelifeofmica



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: CEO, CEO!Luke, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:51:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5175851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelifeofmica/pseuds/thelifeofmica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being the CEO of a major science and technology company wasn’t easy, but Luke Hemmings felt like he’d spent his entire life working to get to where he was. Not everybody saw it that way though, since his father was the one who had built Hemmings Science and Technology. And the headlines about his wild nights at university didn’t help either. However, Luke was trying to put that behind him and actually be a responsible CEO but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Add a beautiful, smart competitor to the equation and lines are bound to get crossed. </p><p>CEO!LUKE</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“No, we need the draft of the plans by the end of the week since there’s a definitive deadline,” Luke sighs, hanging up the phone and staring at the wall for a second. Being the CEO of a major science and technology company wasn’t easy, but he felt like he’d spent his entire life working to get to where he was. Not everybody saw it that way though, since his father was the one who had built Hemmings Science and Technology, many of his employees felt that he had just gotten the CEO position because of his last name. Sure, some of those feelings were because of the stupid stuff he and his friends had done at uni, making headlines with some of their wild nights, but Luke was trying to put that behind him and actually be a responsible CEO.

He had been named temporary CEO a few months ago at the age of 24, when his father had decided to step down due to health reasons. It wasn’t that Luke wasn’t qualified for the position either, he was. He’d graduated college with a dual degree in business and chemistry, specifically so that he could work at his father’s company. After college, he’d slowly began to spend time in science and development departments while he shadowed his father on the business side. That’s why it really got to him when people (the media, naturally) assumed that he was the CEO of Hemmings S&T because of the blood that ran through his veins.

After a knock at the door, Luke peered through the clear glass walls and hit the buzzer to allow the person to come in. “Do you want to go out tonight? Party?” Luke smiles and looks at one of his best friends, Calum Hood, “I don’t know...I’ve got to look over these plans and we’ve got this major bid meeting on Monday and I should probably stay late.” Calum walks over behind Luke, placing his hands on Luke’s shoulders, shaking gently, “come on dude, you’ve got to have fun once in awhile. Let’s just go out tonight, you can sleep it off all day tomorrow and we can do it again and then you can spend all of Sunday working on the bid and you’ll be perfect on Monday.”

After a moment, Luke acquiesces, “okay” and Calum excitedly slaps his shoulder, “HELL YES! Okay, finish up and I’ll go tell Michael and text Ashton. This is going to be great, just like uni, Hemmo, just like uni.” Luke smiles at his friend, “Cal, I’m the CEO of a million dollar company, I can’t do anything too wild.” Calum just shakes his head, “yeah, I know. But you can have some fun! You deserve it.” Twirling the pen in his hand, Luke shrugs, “work is important, I have to be perfect or everyone is going to say that I’m not cut out for this and that the only reason that I’m in this position is because of my last name.” Calum raises his eyebrow, “it’s been months since we’ve all done anything together, you’ve been so busy since they named you CEO. Come on, even Cinderella got to go the ball.” Luke just laughs, “dude, really?” Calum shrugs this time, “I’m just saying and you agreed, so no changing your mind! Finish up and meet me and Michael on the ground floor, Mr. CEO. I’m going to go down to tech to tell Michael.”

Luke finishes up the documents that he had been working on, all preparation for the big bid meeting on Monday and grabs his jacket and the folders and papers he needs to work on Sunday and heads down to the ground floor to meet Michael and Calum. He’s the last one to leave, it’s Friday night and everyone has mostly gone home. Once the elevator dings, he steps into the ground floor lobby and smiles widely at two of his best friends. Calum’s father owns a subsidiary company of Hemmings S&T (and Calum works there as well, learning about how the company works) and Michael works in the tech department of Hemmings S&T. The three of them have been friends since they were kids, along with Ashton Irwin who works for a major music store in town.

Michael excitedly yells, “LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” and Luke laughs, “hey, I’ve got to get changed first, let’s stop by my place.” Michael snorts, “you mean let’s stop by your expensive penthouse? Sounds good to me.” Calum adds, “Ash will meet us at the club.”

They take Luke’s car, Michael having taken the subway to work and Calum had gotten a cab to Hemmings S&T. Once at Luke’s penthouse, Luke quickly switches into a dark blue button up and black jeans. After he emerges from his bedroom, Calum says, “let’s go get hammered!” Luke laughs quietly, “Cal, I’m serious, I can’t do anything too crazy, I’m--” Calum cuts him off, “CEO, yeah, we know. Come on, let’s go have fun.”

The three take a cab to the club, knowing that they’ll likely be drunk and unable to drive. The four of them had been going to Royals Night Club, a high end, private club for the rich and famous, since they had been legally allowed to drink, using Calum and Luke’s last names as a way in. After getting waved past the line and velvet rope, Michael immediately yells, “There’s Ash!” as Calum and Luke follow him to the table Ashton has already gotten.

-

“Four Heinekens, please,” Luke decides to get another round of beers. After paying, Luke walks back to the table and Michael nods in the direction of the bar where a girl is sitting by herself sipping at her beer, “you’ve been staring over there for the past hour, what is up?” Luke shakes his head, “nothing”. Calum smirks, “is it the girl over there? It has to be, dude, just go talk to her, use some of the charm that got you named CEO in the first place, tell her that you’re Luke HEMMINGS and she’ll totally let you--” Luke cuts him off, “CAL, I am not going to use my name to get girls, this isn’t uni anymore. Do I think she’s hot? Yeah, but that’s it”. Ashton smiles at his friend, “it’s amazing that you don’t have a girlfriend with lines like those.” Luke gives Ashton a “look”, “I don’t have time for that sort of thing, I’m too busy with work and everything.” Michael snorts, “Luke, your apartment, your expensive penthouse apartment, is the most depressing sight I’ve ever seen. It’s so empty, like you’re never there. You need to live a little, dude. Let’s make a bet”, he says and then mutters, “hopefully it will make you lighten the fuck up”, making Ashton and Calum snort. Then, he continues explaining, “if Calum and I can drink 4 beers in ten minutes, you’ve got to go at least talk to that girl”. Luke makes a noncommittal sound of disbelief, “fine, you’re on.” Ashton whispers, “I think you’re going to regret that bet, but it’ll be good for you to do a normal 24 year old thing, like actually having fun and talking to a girl, instead of worrying about what you’re going to say at a Board of Directors meeting.” Luke just shrugs and holds out his phone to time Michael and Calum.

Sure enough, Michael and Calum manage to drink four beers each in ten minutes and Luke sighs deeply, “this is dumb,” and Michael gleefully (and drunkenly) cheers, “too bad, Hemmo! Pay up!” Luke picks up his beer and starts the walk towards the girl’s seat at the bar.

He takes a seat next to her and takes a sip of his beer, “Hi, I’m Luke.” She turns to look at him, sizing him up before giving him a nod and turns back to her own almost empty bottle. He takes a deep breath and tries again, “Having a good time?” She sighs and doesn’t say anything and Luke swears she rolled her (really pretty) eyes at him. After a minute of awkward silence, Luke finally gets up and goes back to his table, cursing himself for looking like an idiot.

After Michael, Calum and Ashton laugh at him for his failed attempt, Calum says, “SHOTS! You need shots, Hemmings! Take your mind off of it!” Luke knew it was a terrible idea but Calum can be quite persuasive and the embarrassment he just suffered made him even more weak.

And that’s how Luke finds himself stumbling out of the bar as Calum yells “JUST LIKE OLD TIMES,” unfortunately in the ear of the beautiful girl that he managed to pull, as he has his arm around her. She doesn’t seem to mind though, clearly happy to go home with the infamous Calum Hood.

Luke bumps into something and realizes a second later when his brain finally functions, that it is the girl from the bar and he’s accidentally knocked her down. He starts to say, “I’m sorry, here let me help” when Michael yells, “HEEEY, you’re the girl Luke struck out with earlier, he didn’t even want to come because he’s a big, serious CEO! Yeah, CEO OF HEMMINGS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, HUKE LEMMINGS!” Luke helps the girl up and then she snaps, “thanks, but I don’t need the help of some millionaire playboy” before storming off. Luke watches her go, confused as hell, as Calum decides that now is an excellent time to start making out with the girl he’s got his arm around. And then the cameras start flashing….

Tuesday morning, Luke is tired and stressed, but forces a smile as he steps into the meeting room to face the Board of Directors. He hasn’t opened his mouth yet when Mr. Smith, the Head of the Board, slams down a newspaper, “what the fuck is this, Luke?” Luke looks down at the newspaper’s headline, which reads, “Wild Night Out for millionaire playboy CEO of Hemmings S&T!” with a picture of him stumbling out of the bar, looking less than professional.


	2. Chapter 2

“slam,” Luke’s fist connects with the punching bag as he takes a step back and hurls his fist at the bag once more. Sweat drips down his face as “Unfit for CEO...probation...what would your father say....bad for the company...going to have to rethink the structure at the top” rings through his mind. The meeting with Board of Directors hadn’t gone well, to say the least, and Luke was dealing with the stress the best way he could, by punching the hell out of the punching bag at the boxing gym across the street from Hemmings S&T. He’d been boxing since he was a kid and it always helped him to not think about his problems and stress, though it wasn’t working as well as he would have liked this time. He stabs at the bag once more, bitterly cursing the paparazzi and press that had printed the newspaper headlines about him leaving the club that weekend. He couldn’t have just ONE night to let go, could he? Suddenly, the Board was using this as an excuse to question his position as CEO. He wasn’t the same irresponsible college kid that he had been, it wasn’t fair to use THIS as an excuse to criticize him. But not everything was fair in this business and Luke had ruffled plenty of feathers when his father had named him as the successor to CEO over some of the company members who had been there for years. 

Luke takes a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead and walking over to the bench to get his water bottle, undoing the tape on his knuckles as he checks his phone. 5 missed calls, at least 3 of which were from Board members and one from Ashton and the other was from his dad. Luke bites his lip, deciding that he should at least call his father back. Hitting the green dial button, he waits for his father to pick up, nervously continuing to chew on his bottom lip. 

Luke almost hopes that his father doesn't answer, so that he doesn't have to tell him what happened, to hear the disappointment that Luke's sure will come. He'd taken a risk, placing his company in the hands of his inexperienced son, trusting him to be the best CEO he could, he'd upset plenty of shareholders when he'd named Luke as CEO 6 months ago. But he’d had faith in Luke and that was part of the reason why Luke tried as hard as he did to be perfect as CEO. But this? This was like the stupid stuff he’d done at uni and this wasn’t what he wanted to happen. Back at uni, he, Calum, Ashton and Michael had done some pretty stupid stuff. There were a few times where they had almost been arrested for disturbing the peace (Michael liked to yell a lot when he was drunk and that usually annoyed people) or public intoxication. Luke had a string of girls, he wouldn’t call any of them his girlfriend, for all four years, everybody loved speculating on that...

They had been wild and uncontrollable, treating New York City like it was their own personal playground and that had worked out very well for them until it was finally time to grow up. And for Luke, the reality of that had hit about a year ago when his dad got sick and then he stepped down 6 months ago and Luke became CEO. And suddenly uni was long forgotten, he wanted to be better. Yeah, he had gotten good grades despite the partying (that was what at least 4 of the 7 days of the week for were for anyway) and after graduation, they had continued to go out most weekends. But once Luke was made CEO, it hit him that he had to grow up and so he had gotten a nice “respectable CEO” apartment, taken out anything that would be a distraction (he was barely there anyway) and focused on the work. And that had gone well for the past six months and here it was, everything, all that work, teetering on the edge of becoming completely fucked up because the paparazzi had gotten a picture of him stumbling out of the club, drunk. And the article accompanying the picture had mentioned about his previous….dalliances at uni and that was NOT a good message to the Board of Directors regarding their young CEO. They thought he was irresponsible, the company needed GOOD press, not press about their CEO coming out of a club hammered. So yeah, Luke’s not so sure he wants to have to explain any of this to his dad. It’s not that his dad wouldn’t understand that it was a one time thing, it’s that he WOULD understand. 

“Luke?” his dad’s voice on the other side of the call pulls Luke out of his thoughts. Luke takes a deep breath and sighs, biting on his lower lip where his lipring used to be not long ago (old habits die hard), “hey, dad.” His voice isn’t as steady as he’d like it to be and he knows his dad can probably tell that he’s upset. His dad answers, “hey Luke. Are you okay?” Luke just sighs and his dad quietly asks, “do you want to have lunch? Talk about it?” Luke mumbles, “you saw the papers, didn’t you?” His dad gently laughs, “hard not to, Luke. So, lunch? How’s 2 PM later today?” Luke agrees, “yeah, okay. And dad?” Luke’s father asks once again, “yeah, Luke?” Luke bites down on his lip even harder, drawing blood, “I-I’m sorry.” There’s another quiet laugh on the other end of the call, “Luke, it’s okay. I’ll see you in a few hours.” The quiet sound of the phone disconnecting tells Luke that his father has hung up. Luke runs his hands through his hair and rubs his face before going back to punch the punching bag a few more times, it helped to get out some of the anger. 

A few hours later, Luke finds himself walking into his dad’s favorite lunch spot, The New York Minute, a deli style place that served amazing fresh made sandwiches and even made their own potato chips. His dad was sitting at his usual table, already with a Guinness in hand and a corned beef sandwich. The bell above the door jingled as he walked in and smiled at his dad. 

Taking a seat, his dad orders him a beer, “Heineken?” Luke nods, “yeah, that would be great” and also orders a Reuben as his dad starts talking about his mum is doing and how his golf game has been, “we’ll have to go play one of these days.” Again, Luke nods, “that would be great,” taking a sip of his beer. He doesn’t actually like golf, but it helps for business stuff and his dad really does love it.

Once his Reuben arrives, Luke says, “so, you saw the papers then?” His dad raises an eyebrow, “and the tv coverage, it was on Entertainment Tonight.” Luke sighs for what feels like the 100th time that day and puts his head in his hands, “I’m so sorry dad, you trusted me with the company and I just--” 

Luke is cut off by his dad putting a hand on his shoulder, “Luke, I meant what I said on the phone, it’s okay. I know the board is giving you hell, believe me, they’ve made several calls to me, and I still stand by my decision to name you CEO. I believe in you and I KNOW that you can do this. And all this press, that’s just the media being the media, don’t worry about it.” 

Luke sighs and can’t help but smile at his father. His faith in him is all he needs to try to be better, to try a little harder to be the best CEO he can be. If someone asks him, he will say that he had a little something in his eye and, of course, he wasn’t crying (but that will be a total lie). “Hey, cheer up, buddy. You’re doing great”, his dad grins at him and then furrows his brow, “where the hell is your lip ring?” “I-I took it off. I can’t have one, I mean, as a CEO. That would be unprofessional”, Luke replies. “Says who?” His father says and Luke hesitates for a moment, “the- some people from the board of directors-” “Oh, forget about that. Personally, I don’t care if the people I work with have piercings or tattoos. The only thing I care about is if they can do their jobs or not”, his dad takes a sip of his beer and Luke cannot believe how amazing his father is.

The two talk for a little while longer, until Luke feels immensely better, yet still feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, but less like he’s going to collapse. Eventually, his father goes back home and Luke heads into the office, determined to prepare for a major meeting the next day, determined to prove his father right for believing in him. 

It’s hard to ignore the media though. It’s been awhile since Luke has blatantly been the subject of the paparazzi and entertainment news and so this incident was like dangling a bone in front of a starving dog to the media. As Luke works through the presentation he’s set to give, a bid for a major technology contract involving water purification, he focuses on the presentation, instead of the voice in the back of his mind telling him that he’s messed up. He works until about midnight, finally calling Ashton back, to tell him that he’s okay, and heading home to his penthouse apartment. 

As he places the keys on the table and looks around, he’s struck by how right Michael was, there’s very little personality in the apartment. It’s bare, like no one is ever home (probably because he’d hardly been there over the past few months since moving to this place after being named CEO, to be closer to the company headquarters). Luke falls asleep that night, thinking that while everything was shit, maybe Michael and his friends did have a point, for better or worse, he wasn’t the same as a few months ago.

The next day, he wakes up earlier than usual and tells himself that it’s because he wants to go through the main points for the meeting one more time but in reality he knows it’s because he’s nervous about the whole thing. All eyes are on him now and the future of Hemmings S&T is on his shoulders.

He replays his conversation with his father while he’s standing in front of his bathroom mirror and that brings a smile on his face. His words were reassuring and the look on his father’s face, that proud look he had, well, he’s never going to forget that. That memory makes him feel more confident all of a sudden and he looks at himself in the mirror and says, “you can do it”. But before he leaves the bathroom, he sees his old black lipring on the washbasin and he can practically hear his dad saying: “I don’t care if the people I work with have piercings or tattoos. The only thing I care about is if they can do their jobs or not”. And he KNOWS he can do his job so he puts it in back on. (He also wants to see the board of directors making that face that he knows all too well)

Once he’s in his office and he’s had coffee, he calls the director of the Technology department to discuss some points of the proposal he’s been working at for weeks now. They go through the main point together one last time before he leaves. He is meeting with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Health two blocks from the Hemmings S&T building. Therefore, he’s there early so after announcing himself at the reception desk, he goes to take a sit but he stops himself when he sees a familiar face sitting at one of the chairs, going through some papers. 

“You”, Luke frowns at the woman who was wearing a black skinny dress the last time he saw her but who now looks strictly professional in her deep blue jumpsuit and black blazer. She looks up at him and her eyes harden. Just when she’s about to say something, one of the EPA representatives greets them. “Mr. Hemmings, I’m Richard Adams from EPA. Oh, Miss Bennett. It’s so good having you both here. I don’t know if you two have met”, the man talks fast and then looks at the woman, “Miss Bennett, this is Luke Hemmings, CEO of Hemmings Science and Technology. And Mr. Hemmings, she’s Victoria Bennett Rivera, CEO of Harris Environmental Tech”. She gives him a tight-lipped smile, “Nice meeting you” and Luke is still kind of dumbfounded but he snaps out of it offering her a handshake, “it’s nice meeting you too, Miss Bennett”. “Well, now that the introductions have been made, follow me so we can start the meeting”, Mr Adams says and they both look at him confused, not moving from where they are. “There was a change at the last minute”, Adams starts explaining as he realizes neither of them are following him, “the director of the Office of Water decided to have the meeting with both of you”. His phone starts ringing and he checks it, “I have to take this. If you excuse me, here Lydia will show you the way to the meeting room”. 

After he leaves, the receptionist gives them indications as she blatantly stares at Luke, smiling coyly at him. However, he barely notices her failed attempt at flirting because all he can think about is this woman, Victoria, being the same person he couldn’t take his eyes off at the club the other night. The same girl he tried to talk to, but who turned him down as if he didn’t even exist. The same girl who called him “a millionaire playboy” after he helped her up from the floor. Victoria says a brief “thank you” to the receptionist, who didn’t acknowledge her presence at all and goes in the direction of the meeting room. Luke soon follows her, nodding at the lady at the front desk, who frowns at him. He can’t take his eyes off Victoria as she walks in front of him with her head held high. All he knew about her was her name, that she was a CEO, a totally gorgeous CEO, and that she totally despised him. And he also knows that he wants to find out more about her because, God, was she something else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We love Victoria, bye x

Once in the meeting, the representative from Office of Water explains their proposal to them: as this is a big project that both EPA and the NY State Department of Health considered of high importance, they decided they want to work with both companies. They explain that they have already gone through the proposals they sent and realized that their propositions could easily complement each other. Luke knows that the board of directors of his company won’t be happy about this whole deal but after discussing each item from both proposals, he knows that working with Harris Environmental Tech will not only be good for the project but also for Hemmings S&T, as their partnership could be of good use in the future. He has already made up his mind but just when he’s about to announce his decision, Victoria speaks up. She says that she needs time to evaluate this proposal with Harris En. Tech board of directors and consider all the options before reaching a final decision. However, Luke knows that’s not the entire truth. After listening to her talk about her company’s proposal, going through each item with ease, he knows she’s smart and she’s a CEO for a reason. So, turning down a contract like this one is not something she would do. He also thinks he knows the reason why she hasn’t agreed right away and that it involves him.

Luke tells the representatives from both organizations, but without taking his eyes off Victoria, that they can count his company in for this joint project and he can see the surprise in her eyes for a split second before she turns back to her hard expression and repeats her words. As they cannot reach an agreement, they decide to bring an end to the meeting, allowing both CEOs to go back to their companies. Professional handshakes and smiles are shared and Luke and Victoria leave the room.

“What the hell was that back there?” Luke stops her as she calls the elevator. She just snorts, “please, I actually have things to do for my company, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to work.” She gets into the elevator with Luke hot on her heels as he scoffs, “and I don’t?” She gives him a look of disbelief, “a millionaire playboy? With work to do? What, do you have to go party away some of daddy’s money?” Luke’s mouth drops open “WHAT? I’m not like that.” Again, she snorts, “yeah, right. Is that why I saw that headline, “Wild Night for Hemmings CEO” the other day? This project should be for my company, so I’m going to go work on it. Goodbye, Hemmings.” She starts to walk out of the elevator and Luke watches her go before following her and calling out, “Hey!” She stops and Luke can hear her audibly sigh as she turns around, “what?” Luke steps over to where she is, the height difference making him easily stride over to her, “I think we should have a business lunch, to discuss the proposition of a joint contract, like the representatives mentioned. It would be best for them and both of our companies would get some benefit, otherwise neither of us might get this contract and I don’t think either of us want that, so what do you think?” She chews on her bottom lip, Luke still thinks she’s gorgeous but shoves that thought into the back of his mind. “Fine”, she says and Luke smiles because he knew she is smart enough to realize that a joint contract is actually a good idea. “Tomorrow at noon then?”, Luke asks and she nods, “fine. I guess you did learn a thing or two in one of the business classes you actually attended when you weren’t hungover, didn’t you, playboy?” Luke bites back a smirk, “yeah, I guess I might have earned that 3.9 grade point average fair and square after all.” She rolls her eyes, her voice lighter now, less combative, replying, “only a 3.9? I got a 4.0. I’ll see you later, Hemmings. I’ll call your secretary then? To confirm the business lunch?” Luke smirks for real this time, “Actually, I think you can call me directly,” and gives her a business card before saying, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bennett.” He starts to walk away when she calls out, “Nice lip ring, by the way.” He bites his lip as if on instinct as he walks away, trying hard not to look back at the gorgeous woman that he’s sure will occupy a huge part of his thoughts for a long time.

Luke finds himself at Venetia Italian Restaurant at noon the next day, after a night of working out the business details of a joint contract, determined to prove that he had the business skills to make this work. She’s already there, a glass of ice water with lemon already sitting on the table in front of her as she glances at her phone, likely checking e-mails. Luke takes a seat in front of her, “hello” and she gives him a tight smile and a nod. The waitress comes over and Luke orders a glass of water and she finally says, “so, the contract?” Luke nods and says, “yeah, we’ll get to that, but first I want to know more about you, have to know who you’re getting into bed with, right?” he lets out a quiet laugh, getting her to smile a little more genuinely as he continues, “I googled you last night”. With her eyebrows raised, she says, “Really?” “Yeah. Let’s see. Victoria Bennett Rivera. 27 years old. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, graduated from NYU, top of your class. Interned in Harris Environmental Tech, then escalated your way up and now you’re one of the youngest and more promising CEOs in the country.”

“So you know a bit about me, let me list what I know about YOU. Rich, good-looking, (a slightly younger woman might say hot), well-educated, notorious for partying, daddy named you CEO about 6 months ago, you used to make headlines at school for the aforementioned partying, paparazzi following you around and all that, so, let me make something clear, I don't like rich millionaire playboys who have been given an entire company handed to them on a silver platter without the work.”

Luke’s eyes steel and his jaw clenches before he retorts, “you know nothing about me.” Victoria freezes for a moment at the hard look on his face and when she composes herself, she says, “so tell me how you got where you are then.” “All you need to know is that I take my job and position seriously and I’m here to do what’s best for my company.”

She seems to study him for a moment before saying, “the contract then?” Luke opens the folder he’d brought, “it’s all outlined here, a joint venture with both of our companies. We’ll need to, uh, work together, meetings to coordinate everything and assess progress, I think the client will like the agreement, it’s what they wanted. What do you think?” She takes the folder from him and slowly flips through the pages of the contract, scratching a note in the margins every few minutes or so. The waitress comes over again with Luke’s drink and ask if they’re ready to order. Victoria smiles at her and says that she wants a Caesar salad and Luke is stunned for a moment, unable to stop looking at her smiling like that, so sweetly, and wishing that someday he gets to be the one on the receiving end. He orders the same thing after the waitress asks for the second time and she leaves.

Victoria keeps reading the contract and again Luke is captivated by her facial expressions: the way she purses her lips or frowns when she’s studying the different items or how she lightly bites her lip when she makes notes.

Finally, she looks up at Luke and says,”it’s good” and then places it in front of him, “can you send me a copy once the legal department makes the changes I’ve noted, if you agree to them, of course? And then I’ll sign it and we’ll be in business.” Luke nods, “of course” and then sighs deeply, “glad that got sorted out.”

Victoria is still in business mode when she nods at him, “the board of directors thinks that a joint contract will be beneficial for both of our companies. They’re really interested in working with Hemmings S&T.” “Are you?” He blurts out making Victoria’s eyes widen in surprise. “Sorry?” “Are you interested in working with us?” He looks at her with a hopeful glint in his eye, but she doesn’t get the chance to reply because the waitress is back with their orders. “Two Caesar salads. Miss Bennett. Mr Hemmings,” she places the plates in front of them and they both thank her before she leaves.

“So?” Luke insists because he needs to know what she has to say. “As long as what you said before about being serious about your company is true, my answer is yes. I like your father’s work and how he managed to build his company, well, your company,” she corrects herself. “I wasn’t lying. My father put his trust in me and I’m not planning on letting him down any time soon,” he asserts and, at that, the corners of her lips turn lightly up. “Well, then. I’m glad to hear that,” she nods again and starts eating her salad.

At the beginning, they don’t speak but somehow (and to Luke’s surprise) the silence between them isn’t awkward. They both notice the stares they’re getting from other tables and they’re well aware of the gossip that’s going to inevitably start going around until the newspapers announce their joint contract. “I’m glad we chose this place. We don’t need pictures of us eating lunch in the local news,” he says and she can sense the relief in his voice. “Must be really annoying to see your face in every gossip magazine,” she looks at him and he can tell she’s not being sarcastic. “It sucks. I managed to not be spotted by them during my senior year of university, tried to not give them anything to talk about. And it’s been like that for a while. Well, until the club incident,” he smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I remember that,” she nods. “Yeah, I’m sure you do,” he looks down at his plate and then adds, “that happens when you listen to your friends when they say you need to loosen up a bit.” “Being a CEO means being willing to sacrifice certain things such as getting drunk in public places, which is not that hard, really. There weren’t pictures of me, were there?” She gives him a pointed look and he retorts, “well, not everyone is as perfect as you, Miss Bennett.” “I’m not perfect. I’m responsible. I can’t afford to be reckless. I’m a woman in a CEO position, surrounded by men who think I’m not cut out for this job just because I’m a woman, or how they love to say, a girl,” she says that last word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind being called a girl. It’s just the way they say it,” she adds. “Well, the way I see it, those men are intimidated and feel threaten by you because you’re smart and strong willed so, excuse my language but, fuck them,” Luke is looking at her intently, hoping she knows he’s being honest. It takes a moment for her to react but when she does, Victoria smirks, “they’re too old and kind of creepy. Totally not my type. I’d rather fuck someone younger.” Luke is going to deny the flush on his cheeks or the way he gulped loudly for the rest of his life, but he definitely almost choked on his food and he found it hard to find words to reply to that. “Wow, look at the time!” she says after checking her phone. “I’ve got a meeting in less than an hour.” She calls the waitress and asks for the check and when she brings it, she gives her her credit card. Just when Luke is about to protest, she beats him to it, “this time is on me, next time, you can pay.” “Very well, then,” he smiles at her.

They both stand up to leave and go in the direction of the door but stop before going out. “So, we’ll be seeing each other again soon, I suppose,” she says looking up at him. “I’m counting on it,” he smirks and she just snorts, “goodbye, Hemmings.” His smirk turns into a grin as she walks out of the restaurant.

Several meetings follow that business lunch and every time they are in the same room, Luke can’t take his eyes off her. He’s enthralled by her intelligence and strong opinions and how she doesn’t take any shit from anybody. Once, he almost punched the head of the board of directors of his company because he kept addressing Harris Environmental Tech’s director whenever he needed to discuss something instead of talking to Victoria directly. However, it wasn’t necessary for him to intervene because, of course, she can take care of herself just fine. “Excuse me, Mr., um, what was your name again?” “Smith. Dick Smith.” “Oh, it suits you. Well, Mr Smith. Whatever you need to talk about or if you have any ideas you want to discuss, you should talk to me directly because I’m the CEO of the company even if that’s something that is hard for you to digest.”

Mr. Smith raises his eyebrow but backs up in his seat and nods and the meeting continues. Luke can’t help but to smile a little at that, how she managed to shut down the subtle sexism and how strong willed she is and how she really is an excellent CEO. He finds himself staring at her as she goes over another point in the plans and she’s brilliant. “Mr. Hemmings?” Luke shakes himself out of his own head and blinks once, “yes?” She gives him a “look,” “I just asked what you thought of the particular bullet point involving financing and how that should be distributed. What are your thoughts?” Luke nods, “Well, I…” and continues to explain his own view on the subject. Once the meeting is over, Luke grabs his files and quickly walks over to Victoria, who is shrugging on her jacket, her files still in front of her. He leans against the table, placing his own stack of papers on the table just for a minute, “I was thinking that we should perhaps have another meeting next week, to discuss the progress?” She nods, “okay, I’ll e-mail or call you to set something up.” Luke nods, “okay” and picks up his files and heads out the door, making a note to tell Mr. Smith to reevaluate how he speaks to other company members.

It’s not until Luke is at his penthouse, out of his suit, looking over some of the paperwork from the meeting today and eating Chinese that he realizes that he has accidentally taken some of Victoria’s files, a few that had been laying on the table in front of her. He chews his lip and finally decides to text her a picture of the files, asking if they’re hers. She responds quickly, “I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THOSE EVERYWHERE! Do you think that you could send someone to bring them to my apartment? I need them for a meeting tomorrow.” Luke bites at his lip ring, thinking, “yeah, of course” and she immediately responds, “thank you!” and sends him her address.

He could easily pick up his phone and have someone deliver the files to her but, without overthinking it, he takes the files, his jacket and car keys and prays that he’s not doing something really foolish. Once he gets to her building, he tells the doorman that he has some papers for Miss Bennett and he’s asked to go deliver them himself without being asked for his name. “Okay, I still have the element of surprise,” he thinks as he heads to the elevator.

Luke stands in front of her door and needs to take a deep breath before knocking. He doesn’t have to wait for long because soon the door is opening and he can hear Victoria saying “oh, thank goodness you- Luke?” Her eyes are wide open but that’s not what catches Luke’s attention. She’s wearing grey sweatpants and a black Pirates shirt, her hair is in a bun and she’s wearing black rimmed reading glasses. “What are you doing here?” She asks him and he rubs the back of his neck that’s not holding the files, “I came to bring you this.” “But- but why did you come? I thought that you were going to send someone,” she’s fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Luke hands her the files and crosses his arms tightly, glowers at her, “don’t worry. You have the files now so I’m leaving.” Just when he’s about to turn around, she takes a step forward and grabs his arm, “no, wait. I- I’m surprised, that’s all. I was certainly not expecting visitors.” She looks down at her clothes and when her gaze meets his face again, he’s looking her up and down. She’s still touching his arm when their eyes meet and she instantly lets go. The corners of his lips turn up as he says jokingly “and here I thought you slept in your expensive clothes.” She chuckles at that, “you’re an idiot, Hemmings. Want to come in? I'll just brew some coffee.” He grins at her before agreeing and following her inside.

She gets a few mugs out, setting them on the counter as he takes a seat on a stool in the kitchen. “A Ravenclaw mug? Nice.” She grins, “yeah, my Hogwarts house, you know.” Luke’s got a decorative mug that has a rendition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein book cover, making him smile. It’s not entirely awkward, Luke’s quiet as she moves around the kitchen, “you have a nice apartment. I like your bookshelf.” She gives him a real smile, “thanks, it’s one of my sources of pride.” Luke nods, “Harry Potter, Frankenstein, I can see engineering books, Greek Mythology books, that’s impressive.” She pours his coffee and takes a seat on the other stool, inhaling the scent of the coffee before sipping, “Can I ask you something?” Luke finds himself nodding again, “yeah, of course.” She grins, “the lip ring, how did the board take it when they saw it? You didn’t have it the first time we met.” Luke bites down on his lip ring, “I wasn’t expecting that question, um, they weren’t exactly thrilled but fuck it. Can I ask YOU a question?” She motions yes and he grins, “what’s with the shirt?” The genuine smile and laugh that he’s rewarded with is like music to his ears, “They’re my home team! I grew up in Pittsburgh, I know we’re in New York and everyone loves the Yankees or Mets, but hometown loyalty, you know?” Luke takes in her excitement, she’s loosened up noticeably and he bites his lip with another smile (he can’t stop smiling), “so you like baseball then?” She emphatically nods, “Yes! There’s nothing like it, sitting in the stands and it’s a strategic game, even if maybe it’s a little slow for some people, and it’s incredible and yeah, I love it. You know, the American League teams think they’re so great because they use the designated hitter position, but honestly, it takes away the strategy of the game and--” She’s cut off by Luke’s lips against her own and she threads her fingers in his hair almost on instinct and when they finally pull away, Luke breathes out, “Shit, sorry. I shouldn’t have---” And this time, HE'S cut off by her her own lips on his and she mumbles against his lips, “shut up” and he smirks, moving off the stool, taking her with him as he works his way back to the couch and sits down, pulling her on top of him, “your couch is comfortable,” she rolls her eyes and bites his lower lip, “shut up, Hemmings.” He can’t help but to smile as his fingers test the limits she has, slipping underneath her shirt. She raises her eyebrow and pulls away for second, tugging her shirt over her head before looking at Luke, “I think that we should make it even, what do you think?” And with that, Luke tugs his own shirt over his head and pulls her closer to him. 

She’s trailing kisses down his neck as she works on his the button of his jeans. “Victoria”, he breathes sharply and she says, “I told you to shut up, Hemmings” and then sucks on the spot right behind his ear making him moan. Soon, his jeans are discarded somewhere on the floor as well as her sports bra and now he’s licking and sucking on the sensitive exposed skin, eliciting sounds from her that make his heart beat faster. She detaches herself from him, standing up to take off her sweatpants but before she can climb back up his lap, Luke puts his hands on her waist as his eyes travel up and down her body, taking her in. Just when she’s about to tell him to stop staring, his lips find her hipbone and he starts kissing her as his hands explore the rest of her. She can feel his hot breath against her skin as he says “you’re missing one thing” before pulling down her underwear.

She learns a few things about Luke Hemmings that night: he has really skillful fingers and he can be a fucking tease. “I swear to God, Hemmings,” she manages to say as she catches her breath, “if you don’t fuck me now, I will--.” He cuts her off by kissing her hard and then saying, “well, I’m going to need a condom, first.” “So take me to my room and you’ll have all the condoms you want. Come on!”, she commands, making him chuckle. He lifts her up, both hands on her ass and her legs wrapped around him. She’s kissing his neck, sucking and biting, and he smirks, “eager, are we?” She bites hard on his collarbone at that.

He places Victoria on the bed gently and takes her in, completely exposed and waiting for him, “in the bedside table’s drawer.” He snaps out of it and opens the drawer to find the box he was looking for. “Let me help you with that,” she takes control of the situation, shoving his boxers down and taking the condom in her hands. He should have known that she was going to be fucking dominant in bed. It also doesn’t take long for him to realize that he loves it.

His skin feels like it's on fire with every touch, even the slightest graze of her fingertips makes his skin feel like it's being set on fire. Her name keeps falling from his wet and swollen lips as they get lost in each other. And every time she says his name, breathless and pleading, his heart skips a beat.

After they both come down from their highs, trying to catch their breaths, Victoria stands up quickly and looks for a shirt to put on. The air feels heavy and Luke can’t take his eyes off her, not even when she turns around and her eyes look devoid of emotion as she says with finality, “this was the first and last time, Hemmings.” He keeps looking into her eyes, trying to find that spark that he saw when they were both breathing each other’s names but he finds nothing. Words get stuck in his throat but he doesn’t let it show. He stands up and puts his boxers on, and then goes to her living room to put the rest of his clothes on without saying another word. She doesn’t come out of her room and he decides it’s for the best. As he closes the door of her apartment, he whispers, trying to convince himself that this is the right thing, “first and last time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let us know what you think!
> 
> Meghan&Mica


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